1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus used by emergency medical personnel in treating an injured person. More specifically, the apparatus pertains to tapes capable of conveying information about the injured person.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, when medical personnel treat patients at the accident site, the patient""s medical information is marked on their skin. This enables medical personnel to interpret a previously identified injury. However, the are difficulties associated with this method of injury identification, including locating and reading the information in low light environments. In addition, if may be difficult to read the information placed on a patient having dark skin. Accordingly, there are limitations associated with placing indicia associated with injury identification directly on the patient""s skin.
Adhesive tapes are well known in the medical community. They are widely used at both the site of injury and during care in a hospital. The prior art includes many forms of medical tape. Numerous tapes are used to secure bandages to the injured person. In addition to securing bandages, certain medical tapes themselves are used as bandages.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2001/0049485 to Wehde discloses a roll of sterile adhesive tape for dressing wounds. The tape includes an adhesive on an underside surface and a sterilized gauze pad attached to the underside surface adjacent to the adhesive. A liner is placed over the gauze pad to enable the sterility of the gauze to be maintained. Upon application of the tape to an injured site, the gauze must be removed for the underside surface. Accordingly, the Wehde publication requires the sterility associated with the bandage to be maintained until the bandage is properly placed at the injury site.
U.S. Publication No. 2001/0047144 to Tillotson discloses a medical bandage with a luminescent material. The bandage includes a pad adapted to be placed over an injury and an adhesive adjacent to the pad. A top surface of the bandage may include a light emitting material to enable the bandage to be visible in low light environments. However, the bandage requires sterility because it is placed on an open wound. This sterilization step increases the production cost. In addition, the bandage is changed as needed making it an ineffective place to convey information. Because the bandage will not remain with the patient for the duration of treatment, the information marked on it will either need to be written onto each bandage or will be lost with a bandage change. While this bandage is suited for treating patients in low light environments, it is an expensive and inefficient means to convey information.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,565 to Rollband discloses a temporary bandage tape. A plurality of bandages are placed in the form of a roll and separated by perforations. In using the tape as a bandage, it needs to be packaged in a sterile manner. This requisite sterility makes bandaging tape expensive to produce. Additionally, these tapes are ill suited to low light environments as they do not include a material that enhances visibility in such environments. Accordingly, the Rollband patent requires sterility in the vicinity of the location of the bandages along the roll of tape to enable the bandages to be placed on or near openings in the skin of a patient.
There are shortcomings associated with the prior art as a means for conveying information. In general, the prior art associates the solution in the form of a bandage which requires an added expense in the manufacture product in view of the sterility requirement. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a solution that enables the tape to function as a means of conveying information without the need for sterilizing the tape.
This invention comprises an apparatus for conveying information in an efficient and categoric manner.
In a first aspect of the invention, the apparatus is used to convey information in a medical emergency. The apparatus includes a tape with a front side and a back side. The front side of the tape has a section with a light reflective material, and a section of a material adapted to receive indicia from a writing utensil. The back side of the tape has an adhesive material. In a preferred embodiment, the front side of the tape may include a waterproof material. The tape may also include a perforation at intervals along the length of the tape. A piece of tape may be removed from an adjacent segment of tape along the perforation.
In a second aspect of the invention a method for conveying information in a medical emergency is provided. A length of tape is packaged with a light reflective material on a front side of the tape. The length of tape includes a plurality of segments with adjacent segments joined together at preformed perforations. Indicia is applied to a section of the front side of the tape. A segment is removed from the length of tape along a perforation. The removed segment is then adhered to a secondary surface.
Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.